Our Story

A Straight Ally Stands In Solidarity With The LGBT Community.

"If there's something we can do to improve sports, teams and lives, we should do it."

Hudson Taylor

Founder & Executive Director

As an athlete in high school and college, Hudson Taylor often observed the use of homophobic language and demeaning humor, especially in sports. Soon after enrolling at the University of Maryland, he befriended LGBT students in his theatre classes and became increasingly aware of the pain caused by homophobic behavior.

Hudson felt it was imperative he confront the reality that sports often marginalize LGBT athletes, coaches and others through systemic homophobia and transphobia. He decided to take action as a straight ally to change athletic culture for the better.

To stand in solidarity with the LGBT community, Hudson wore an LGBT equality sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his wrestling headgear. Though he encountered criticism from his peers, but received positive attention from the media, and received thousands of emails from parents and closeted athletes, expressing thanks and sharing their own experiences of homophobia and transphobia in sports.

This experience inspired Hudson to launch Athlete Ally.

Our Work

Athlete Ally is a 501c-3 nonprofit organization that provides public awareness campaigns, educational programming and tools and resources to foster inclusive sports communities. We mobilize Ambassadors in collegiate, professional and Olympic sports who work to foster “allyship” in their athletic environments. The programs include Ambassadors from over 80 colleges and over 100 professional athletes.

As part of our programming:

Athlete Ally implements LGBT awareness and ally trainings and workshops at scores of colleges and high schools. Its programs often include meetings with athletic directors and staff and keynotes to groups ranging from entire student bodies to individual teams.

Athlete Ally is a close partner of the NBA and NBPA on player development and LGBT inclusion. Building on their partnership, Athlete Ally delivers trainings at the NBA Pre-Draft Information Program, at the NBA/NBPA Annual Rookie Transition Program, and at workshops for Team Player Development Directors. It also produces training materials for these programs.

Athlete Ally is a partner of the NFL Player’s Association, and the two came together to support Pride in 2013 with shirts honoring some of the most vocal supporters of LGBT inclusion in the NFL.

Founder and Executive Director Hudson Taylor worked with Pat Griffin to author the NCAA’s first-ever handbook for college athletes, coaches and administrators on LGBTQ policies and best practices.

Athlete Ally works with the NFL on player awareness and sensitivity on LBGT issues.

Athlete Ally is a partner of the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, where it supports a groundbreaking museum exhibit on allies in sports and builds educational programs for youth athletes, coaches and parents.

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Who is an Athlete Ally?

An Athlete Ally can be any person — regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity — who takes a stand against homophobia and transphobia in sports and brings the message of respect, inclusion and equality to their athletic community. Athlete Allies include competitive and recreational athletes as well as coaches, parents, teachers, league officials, sports fans, other sports participants and advocates around the globe.

The word “ally” has historically applied to straight allies. But, it’s not just about who you are or who you like, it’s about what you stand for. No matter how you identify, being an ally means honoring the unique experiences of LGBT individuals and championing respect in your own way.

Our Team

Hudson Taylor

Founder, Executive Director & Board Member

Hudson Taylor is a wrestling coach and prominent straight ally and activist in support of LGBT rights. Hudson was a three-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA Academic All-American wrestler who racked up the most pins; most wins in the history of the University of Maryland. He is ranked among the top five pinners in NCAA wrestling history and holds several hall-of-fame records. After graduating from Maryland, Hudson became a wrestling coach at Columbia. Taylor spreads this message of equality and inclusion through his roles at Athlete Ally, his public speaking, and his blog on the Huffington Post.

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Mike Balaban

Co-Chair, Board of Directors

Mike Balaban, Managing Principal of Balaban Associates and Partner at Gotham Orient Partners, has been active in international finance for many years. He spent 18 years with Lehman Brothers and Citigroup in NYC and Tokyo, engaged in fixed income, equities & corporate finance, followed by 10 years in cross-border consulting and executive management focused on financial information and media. Mike's global perspective includes deep knowledge of the business landscape in Asia and an extensive network of connections there. He has also served on boards of directors and development committees of such other non-profits as GLSEN, Galen University (Belize), and Echoing Green for the past 17 years.

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Andrew Ward

Co-Chair, Board of Directors

J. Andrew Ward is a Principal and Associate General Counsel at KPMG LLP, where he works on a wide range of legal and compliance matters, including civil litigation, regulatory and governmental investigations, government contracting and compliance, and other domestic and transnational regulatory issues. He is also currently on the Leadership Committee for Out on the Street and Out in Law, senior leadership organizations that promote LGBT equality and inclusion within the financial services industry and the legal profession. Prior to joining KPMG in 2003, he was a litigator in the New York office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Andy was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in French Literature and Creative Writing. After graduating from UNC, he received a Rotary Fellowship to study at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, earning a Master’s level degree in European Union Studies. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the oldest student-run legal services organization in the country. At the Legal Aid Bureau, he founded a project to provide legal services to people with HIV/AIDS Andy previously served as the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to providing housing and services to homeless LGBT youth.

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Deborah Block

Co-Founder, Board Member Emeritus

Deborah Block is a Co-Founder and Board Member emeritus. She works as a Marketing Associate at PhotoShelter, a New York City-based technology company that provides websites and business tools for professional photographers. She manages the company's marketing strategy, events, social media, and public relations. Deborah graduated from Tufts University in 2008.

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Frances A. Boller

Board Member

Frances A. Boller is Executive Vice President of Nike Brands and Chief Marketing Officer at Haddad Apparel Group. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of building the children’s athletic and lifestyle apparel brands, including Nike, Jordan, Converse, Limited Team, and Nike Action. She has served previously at Nike as the Jordan Apparel Business Director GM, as well as Men’s Vice President for G-III Apparel Group. Frances is a founding member of the USC-Marshall Business School women’s case study completion and is the recipient of both the Nike Maxim Award (2005) and Nike Apparel Maxim Award (2006). She has appeared on several television segments promoting brands, including “60 Minutes” and the “Vibe” music awards. Frances is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), where she has been honored as one of the school’s Most Notable Alumni.

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Joy Bunson

Board Member

Joy Bunson is an accomplished Human Resources executive with over 20 years of experience in financial services. She currently runs a consulting and coaching practice and specializes in areas related to organizational culture and effectiveness, including leadership development, change management, diversity and work-life. Her clients come from both the for profit and not for profit sectors and have included Moody’s, PwC, Royal Bank of Canada, Ford Models, Baker & Mckenzie, the Families and Work Institute, the Young Women’s Leadership Network and others.

Until mid-2006, she was the Senior Vice President and executive in charge of Global Human Resources Development at JPMorganChase. Her responsibilities included corporate leadership, diversity, talent and performance management, work-life, learning and education, and Human Resources branding and communications programs for JPMorganChase’s 160,000 employees worldwide.

Under Ms. Bunson’s tenure, her Development team oversaw the organizational aspects of three of the industry’s largest mergers: Chase-Chemical bank, Chase-J.R Morgan and the JPMorganChase – Bank One merger. She led the expansion of JPMorganChase’s back-up child care network across the U.S. into the largest onsite corporate network in the country; the implementation of a formal diversity planning process that yielded substantial changes to the company’s climate and demographics; and the development of several public-private partnerships, including Smart Start, a community based scholarship and career development program and Comfort for Kids, a program launched after 9/11 to help parents and caregivers recognize and deal with trauma in young children and later adapted for use worldwide. During this time, JPMorganChase received numerous awards for its work-life and diversity initiatives. These included the Catalyst award in 2001, recognition as one of the top 10 companies for working mothers in 2003 and 2006, and placement on numerous *best companies” lists.

In 2005, Ms. Bunson was honored as a leader in the work-life movement by the Families and Work Institute, which awarded her its Work-Life legacy award for her pioneering work on supporting the child care needs of JPMorganChase employees and integrating diversity and work-life into corporate culture.

Ms. Bunson holds an M.S. in Organizational Psychology from New York University and a B.A. in Ameri-can Studies from Cornell University. She resides in Manhattan with her husband and son.

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Laura Clise

Board Member

Laura Clise is a corporate sustainability leader and 2013 Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow. At AREVA Inc., Laura established led the Sustainable Development department, overseeing the company's first regional sustainability strategy and supplier diversity program. She subsequently served as the Director of External Communications & Corporate Citizenship. Before joining AREVA Inc., Laura’s sustainability experience included work for the U.N. Global Compact, Intel Corporation, and Business for Social Responsibility. Laura received an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a BA in International Relations from Carleton College. She received an Exceptional Individual Achievement Award from the Human Rights Campaign for her work on marriage equality in Maryland and is a frequent speaker a host of issues, including sustainability initiatives, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement.

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Chris Coffey

Board Member

Chris Coffey leads the New York practice for Tusk Ventures and for Tusk Strategies, where he works with clients like The Patrolman’s Benevolent Association (PBA), Times Square Alliance, Cumberland Packing, and Whole Foods. Chris also helps lead Tusk’s Tech & Public Policy projects.

Prior to joining Tusk, Chris worked for Mike Bloomberg for 12 years. He served at City Hall, on Mike’s three electoral campaigns, and at Bloomberg L.P.

Chris was an Assistant Commissioner at the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment (MOME), where he oversaw communications and external affairs. During Chris’ time in City government, he helped set up the first-ever NYC Digital Office. He co-authored the Roadmap for the Digital City, which the Mayor unveiled as the first digital blueprint for City government in the nation.

Before rejoining the City, Chris worked on the 2009 Bloomberg campaign as a senior communications strategist. He helped secure a record-breaking 64 endorsements from newspapers across the City.

During Chris’ first stint at City Hall from 2002-2007, he served as First Deputy Commissioner of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, where he helped manage the Mayor’s community relationships. He was also Director of the Mayor’s advance team and an Assistant Press Secretary.

Chris has been named a Rising Star by both City Hall News and Queens Courier. Chris currently serves on the executive boards of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and Athlete Ally. Chris was born and raised in New York City and now lives in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn with his husband Adam J. Riff.

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Brian Ellner

Board Member

Brian Ellner is a senior political strategist and newly named Executive Vice President and Group Head for Public Affairs at Edelman in New York. He ran the Human Rights Campaign's successful effort to win marriage equality in New York and launched New Yorkers for Marriage Equality, a communications campaign featuring iconic New Yorkers (including Julianne Moore, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Barbara Bush, and Sean Avery) expressing support for equal marriage rights. Brian also co-founded TheFour.com to support the 2012 marriage equality referenda fights in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington. Brian is an attorney and practiced with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison and O'Melveny Myers. Prior to joining HRC, Ellner was a senior aide in Mayor Bloomberg's administration. Brian is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.

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Carin Levine Ehrenberg

Board Member

Carin Levine Ehrenberg is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. Over the past 20 years Carin has spent equal time working with her clients as she has devoted to community service and organizing in several organizations. She was most recently the president Greenwich Village Little League (GVLL) which annually serves over a thousand players ages 4 to 16. At GVLL Carin has helped build programs for the league and advocate in local politics on behalf of youth sports. Carin also serves on the board of P3 Baseball and Softball, and is an advocate for youth as a representative of the organization Pier 40 Champions. In addition to her leadership in youth sports, Carin has focused on diversity and advocacy as a volunteer for the past decade at NYC independent schools LREI and Poly Prep Country Day. Carin has joined the Athlete Ally board in part to expand the organization’s work with youth athletes.

Carin received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from St. John’s University and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and their two sons.

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Allison Grover

Board Member

Allison Grover spent 13 years in the financial services industry, most recently as a Vice President in Goldman Sachs & Co.’s Securities Division as an equity trader. While there, she served on the firm’s LGBT Network Steering Committee, developing and implementing its LGBT Ally Strategy, which won the HRC Innovation Award for Workplace Equality in 2011. Allison has also worked for Vestar Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley & Co., and N.M. Rothschild & Sons. She holds a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. Allison grew up in Montreal, and now lives in New York City with her wife Susie and their four children.

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Sean James

Board Member

Sean James is a former college athlete and NFL player who has been able to utilize his experiences as an athlete to truly understand what young student athletes need to do in order to realize their full potential. Sean has been workingwith children for over 25 years. During that time, his programs have evolved to meet his widening vision of the ever-growing needs of today’s youth, and the ways in which he can help them to meet those needs.

In 2007, Sean created Sean James Student Athletes (SJSA) as a means of providing youth with the opportunity to live out their dreams. In 2011, Sean’s philanthropic work was recognized by Buick and theNCAA in their very first Human Highlight Reel that celebrates human achievement by shining a light on those student-athletes that continue to show leadership and dedication once they complete their academic programs and become active in their communities to have a positive influence on the lives of others.

In 2012, Sean founded Be In The Know About Bullying to provide education and mentorship to students in order to help them be leaders in their communities, and combat the bullying epidemic faced by our nation.Sean travels the country spreading awareness and educating students on leadership and on bullyingthrough the Be In The Know About Bullying curriculum, and through speaking directly to children alongside Be In The Know’s many other NFL ambassadors. His passion for and dedication to children helps him to inspire them to take action in their own schools and communities.

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Lia Parifax

Board Member, Co-Founder

Lia Parifax is an attorney and social impact strategist. She is currently Chief Operating Officer of Coda Leadership, a strategic advisory firm specializing in corporate diversity, leadership and social impact. While previously practicing global finance at Alston Bird LLP, her focus was on securities transactions, complex corporate finance, securities compliance and regulatory issues. Lia also worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C., where she assisted on high profile criminal trials and for the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, where she focused on federal procedure and alleged civil rights violations. Lia graduated first in her class from Lafayette College and obtained her law degree from the George Washington University Law School.

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Christine Quinn

Board Member

Christine Callaghan Quinn is the former Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she is the first female and first openly gay speaker. As City Council speaker, Quinn was New York City's second most powerful public servant, behind the mayor. She ran to succeed Michael Bloomberg as the city's mayor in the 2013 mayoral election, but she came in third in the Democratic primary.

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Brian Rice

Board Member

Brian Rice has been a top-ranked real estate agent at Corcoran for over twenty years following a successful career selling securities on Wall Street. After growing up in Manhasset, New York , Brian graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was a 4 year varsity midfielder on UNC’s lacrosse team, winning two NCAA Division 1 championships (1981 and 1982). Brian lives in Manhattan and Nantucket with his husband Rob Goldrich and wire fox terrier Moby.

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Frederick C. Raffetto

Board Member

Frederick C. Raffetto is a partner at the Law Firm of Ansell Grimm & Aaron, P.C., based in Ocean Township, New Jersey. He specializes in the areas of Local Government Law, Zoning and Land Use, Historic Preservation, Real Property Tax Appeals, and Civil Litigation. At current, Mr. Raffetto serves as City Attorney for the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey, as well as Municipal Attorney for the Boroughs of Spring Lake Heights, Hightstown, and Jamesburg, New Jersey. Fred has also served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Drew University concerning historic preservation matters. Fred received his B.A. from Lafayette College in 1987, and his J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law in 1990.

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Ward Simmons

Board Member

Ward Simmons is the Head of Marketing for Baccarat. Ward’s responsibilities are to create forward thinking, innovative strategies within Marketing, Public Relations, Digital, and Social Media to enhance the image of Baccarat and take market share from Baccarat’s competitors. Prior to joining Baccarat, for 7 years, Ward ran Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations and Visual for HUGO BOSS, the Americas.

Ward started his career working for Polo/Ralph Lauren in which he held several positions over a 14 year span which ended as the Director of Flagship Stores in New York. Later, he finally migrated over to Marketing and Public Relations when he became the Director of Communications at Carolina Herrera.

Born in Murray, Kentucky, Ward attended the University of Alabama where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.

Ward has been involved with numerous charitable organizations. Ward served as Event Chairman for Broadway in South Africa, which develops a cross-cultural exchange between youth who are in need and artists who seek to use their talents, along with being awarded with amfAR’s Humanitarian Award raising money to help prevent HIV infection and the disease and death associated with it and to protect the human rights of all people.

In Ward’s spare time, he enjoys all sports, and being on his Childhood Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky.

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Robert Smith

Board Member

Rob Smith is an intuitive merchant with a broad-based background in department store, specialty store, vertical, and online retailing, consistently achieving bottom-line success by developing and building businesses and leading successful turnarounds throughout his 25 year career at Macys, Victoria's Secret and now Haddad Brands (children's maker of Nike, Converse, Jordan and Levi apparel). As an organizational leader, he has consistently identified talent and motivated teams to higher levels of productivity and morale. As a community leader, Rob has served on the board of directors for the Hetrick Martin Institute, serving at risk GBLTQ youth. As a member of the HMI board, Smith served as BOD chair and chair of the Emery Awards, raising over $6 million dollars as well as campaigning to create the expansion of HMI to new cities and global training and advocacy. Smith has taught at FIT, however is a graduate of Michigan State University. He resides in NYC with his husband, Rod Grozier where they are actively involved in politics and the advancement of all individuals.

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Mark Stephanz

Board Member

Mark E. Stephanz is Vice Chairman andManaging Director in the Global Financial Sponsors Group for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In this role, he advises a select group of strategic financial sponsors based in New York on a broad range of capital raising and advisory services, including leveraged buyouts, equity market alternatives and mergers and acquisitions. He is Chair of the Retention Committee for Diversity and Inclusion at BofA Merrill Lynch and is a member of the bank’s New York Pride Group. Mark serves as co-chair of the Leadership Advisory Committee for Out on the Street, an organization of senior LGBT bankers on Wall Street.

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Sandye Taylor

Board Member

Sandye Taylor is currently a Senior Vice President with Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Human Resources. She is the head of Diversity & Inclusion for the firm’s institutional securities group. In this role, she has elevated LGBT awareness thru leadership engagement and various programmatic initiatives. She has been with the firm since 2003 serving in different roles including managing Merrill Lynch’s Supplier Diversity Program. Before that, Sandye practiced law servicing the securities, technology and music recording industries. She received her B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Maryland and has served on the boards of directors of the East Orange Falcons Football and Cheerleading Organization and Our Neighborhood Empowered. Sandye is married to Kevin and they have two children.

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Robert York

Board Member

Robert currently serves as the Senior Director of Development at NMAC in Washington, DC. Robert previously served as the executive director for Capital Pride and as director of AIDS Walk Washington. In 2005 the Washington Blade named him the Outstanding Male Hero in the LGBT community and in 2014 he was honored with Capital Pride’s Larry Stansbury Award for distinguished service. Robert received his B.A in journalism/public relations from the University of Central Oklahoma. Robert currently serves as an Ambassador for The Trevor Project DC chapter, a board member for the Capital Pride Alliance and is also a published author. Robert is also an active team player with the Washington DC Federal Triangles Soccer Club, CAPS Softball, Stonewall DC dodge ball and Cheer DC which he founded. Robert was also a spirit leader with the Washington Freedom Women's Professional Soccer Team from 2002 - 2012 as well as the Washington Capitals Professional Hockey Team and worked on the executive staff for the original Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter.

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Mitch Mathias

Director of Development

Mitch Mathias serves as Athlete Ally's Director of Development, leading the organization's fundraising efforts. Before Athlete Ally, Mitch worked as a senior member of the fundraising team at Lambda Legal for almost 5 years, specializing in individual major gifts. Prior to that, Mitch worked for The Bonner Group, a progressive, fundraising consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Mitch has also worked at The Brookings Institution and Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW). He holds degrees from The College of William & Mary and Georgetown University.

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Taylor Carr

Director of Communications

Taylor Carr leads communications at Athlete Ally, and is responsible for overseeing all facets of the organization’s communications responsibilities, including executive positioning, media relations, social media, paid media and email marketing.
Prior to joining Athlete Ally, Carr worked in Edelman’s New York Public Affairs practice and worked with renowned brands including the New York Liberty, New York Knicks, Ocean Conservancy, Lambda Legal, the United Nations Global Compact, Bridgestone, Verizon, and more to address some of society’s most pressing concerns, ranging from women’s empowerment and human rights, to climate change and LGBT equality.
Carr was responsible for helping grow Edelman New York’s LGBT communications marketing work, including counseling client across the world on their LGBT diversity and inclusion initiatives. He’s worked with multiple, global private sector clients to take a firm stance against hateful, anti-LGBT legislation across the United States, helping pave the way for future private sector activism in the space.
A thought-leader on Cyberbullying, Carr has been quoted on the roles and responsibilities of academic institutions in the prevention, reporting and intervention of Cyberbullying activities under an institution’s purview.
Carr has a degree in Public Relations from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.
Carr has been a certified USSF State Referee; a NISOA Collegiate referee; and a Major Indoor Soccer referee.

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Andres Anton-Diaz

Operations

Andres Anton-Diaz worked at OutRight Action International and the University of Southern California's Athletic development team as a technical writer, fundraising data analyst, database administrator, digital fundraising operations manager and videographer. During his time at both organizations, he oversaw and participated in several initiatives to upgrade fundraising databases, as well as a number of online, direct marketing, peer-to-peer, and crowdfunding campaigns.

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Liam Miranda

Research and Program Manager

Liam graduated with distinction from Duke University in Psychology, with minors in Neuroscience and Philosophy. While at Duke, he was a varsity athlete and helped create meaningful change there and in the greater North Carolina sports community. Soon after, he began working with Athlete Ally on developing and evaluating campaigns, programs and content that have been successfully modeled by others in the US and abroad. In addition to research on moral decision-making and attitude formation, he focused his efforts on exploring dynamics of coach-athlete dyads consisting of LGB-identified members, and the role of coaches in creating inclusive spaces. Liam now works to manage Athlete Ally's programs and continue contributing to areas of research that help identify barriers to LGBTQ inclusion in athletics and beyond.

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Akil Patterson

Youth Programs Leader

Akil Patterson is the Head of Youth Programs for Athlete Ally. A former Greco-Roman wrestler and football player at the University of Maryland and California University (Pennsylvania), Akil is responsible for the growth and development of programs that focus on youth and communities of color. After nearly eight years coaching on the Olympic Level Circuit, Akil began working as a community activist and organizer. He is now the manager of community organizing for Sugar Free Kids, a coalition dedicated to ending childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes. When Akil is not working, he can be found training young people on the mats, in the classroom, or just out in his Baltimore community.

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Jonathan Slawson

Development Coordinator

Jonathan Slawson is thrilled to be supporting the international Athlete Ally movement. In addition to his work with Athlete Ally, he is currently the manager of the Carnegie Hall Notables, a loyal group of music enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s who support the educational programs of the Weill Music Institute and celebrate music through intimate discussions, concerts, cocktail parties, and more. He is a graduate of Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) as well as the New School University (New York, NY) where he received degrees in music education, arts administration, and nonprofit management. Jonathan has also worked in development at Lincoln Center, Blair Academy, and the League of American Orchestras.

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Bennett Sherr

Communications Intern

Bennett Sherr is currently serving as Athlete Ally’s Communications Intern. He is a recent graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA and is pursuing a year of work, life and academic experience before matriculating at Cornell University. Bennett’s passion for sports led him to compete at the Prep National Championships in wrestling and his commitment to social justice led him to serve as a school representative to the NAIS 2016 Student Diversity Leadership Conference, head numerous on-campus forums surrounding diversity and identity, and champion on-campus social justice initiatives such as the creation of all-gender housing and founding the No Shame in The Name Disability Theatre Festival. Bennett is excited to be working with Athlete Ally to expand on his prior experience with social justice and to create a more equitable world by forming allies and building community.